Wednesday Briefs: October 17, 2018

Here is a list of all the authors flashing this week, along with a brief snippet from their latest free work. Click the link after the snippet to be taken to the complete story on the author’s home page.

The Faery of Beacon Lake: Part 21 by Nephy Hart

They stopped for lunch in a little café Owen liked to visit when he was staying with his grandmother. It was cheap and cheerful but had some of the nicest food Owen had ever had in a café. Of course, nothing surpassed his grandmother’s cooking, but this came close. He wasn’t one for fancy food and the general fare of homecooked stews, pies and burgers suited him fine. They also had the best coffee he’d ever tasted outside the city. Aggie wasn’t impressed with coffee and the shit she gave him tasted like it had gone through the intestines of a cow.

Captain went rigid, and I stepped in close to support him but didn’t touch him. His breaths came sharp and his jaw was clenched. “Quarters. Now.” He marched through the ship and we followed in his wake, drawn along silently.

Deke’s hand stayed next to his belt and his weapons. The traitors, whoever they were, must really have him on edge.

“Are we secure?” Captain asked in the lift.

“No. Not even close.” Deke was grim. “I couldn’t arrest those named without alerting some who were unnamed.”

Allen shut off her phone. She’d spent the last fifteen or so minutes composing countless angry messages to Beatriz, only to delete them and start over with a blank screen. But in the end, nothing was sent. Her silence still spoke volumes—or so she thought as she angled her way through the conference hall.

Her face burned. Beatriz had completely shut her out of their project, adjusted the machine without her knowledge or consent, and then brushed off her concerns as a manifestation of conference stress. Beatriz had been right from the first time they met, Allen thought. She really did not bring any joy to the world. Allen’s clenched jaw and unspoken torrent of insults were proof of that.

Soft chimes from the instrument panels were the only sounds in the uncomfortable silence. Franc, Torrins, and Daiko sat in their respective seats. As he stepped across the threshold, three sets of eyes followed him. And he thought walking in the hallway was noisy. The short trek felt downright deafening as he found his place next to Torrins. It wasn’t the first time his appearance had quieted the room, but he refused to give them the satisfaction of knowing how unnerving it could be.